C. W. Bill Young: “The problem is not in the House. This issue was discussed openly in a colloquy with the chairman of the Committee on…”

“The problem is not in the House. This issue was discussed openly in a colloquy with the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. We discussed this issue thoroughly, and we made it clear what the intent was. Why we are removing the provision today is because the other body amended our resolution and said they wanted it out. We are a bicameral legislature, and we have to work with the other body. In fact, this whole comedy of errors of an omnibus appropriations bill would not have happened if the other body, and I am not allowed by the House rules to say who or what or why, but the other body did not pass their bills. I really get offended when I hear the news media reporting the Congress did not get their job done. The House did. The Committee on Appropriations passed all of its bills. By the end of July, we had all of our bills reported, and we had all but one through the House floor, and that one could have gone through the House floor, but we were not given time to do it on the floor. The other body did not do their job, so we had to do this omnibus package rather than doing 13 separate bills. There is the answer to the gentleman's question.”